“Boardwalk Empire” is yet another great show from HBO and although it’s not up to par with “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” or “Game of Thrones,” that standard is hard to meet. That being said, I will say the ensemble cast ranging from Steve Buscemi to Michael Shannon is one of the best and the performances all around, in conjunction with quality writing beginning with Terence Winter, is top notch.
Tracers is not a good movie and it’s easy to see why it didn’t get a wide release and instead quietly was released onto home video. Taylor Lautner actually isn’t the problem, though Hollywood should stop trying to make him into an action star, but instead it’s a ridiculous plot and overwrought character drama that bogged the film down. That said, the parkour action scenes were very well done.
Hombre is a great Western drama with a fantastic performance by Paul Newman to go along with a beautiful cinematography by James Wong Howe and direction by Martin Ritt (The Spy Who Came in Out of the Cold). The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time offers limited features but the video and audio transfers are both great.
Focus had the chance to be great and instead makes for a good film that reminds you how charming Will Smith can be. Add to that another great performance from Margot Robbie and you’ve got two actors who could overcome any of the issues with the script, and its schitzo storytelling between the two halves, and makes for an all around fun movie that might be worth a rental.
It’s not hard to see why Jupiter Ascending was delayed 9 months (and I don’t buy the official reasons) as it was one cluster-f of a film and the problem is, it wasn’t even an entertaining cluster-f. The acting is rather wooden though these actors aren’t given much to work with but on the plus side it looks and sound fantastic, even demo worthy, so if there’s any reason to pop this movie in, it’d be to show off your home theater.
I didn’t find Stay as You Are (Cosi’ Come Sei) to be anything extraordinary, though it is controversial, but Nastassja Kinski is fantastic and at least the story itself had some compelling elements. Unfortunately the Blu-ray release fails in almost every category with piss poor video/audio and only a trailer. Even if you are a big fan of this film or of Italian cinema, this is not worth the price.
“The Nanny” might not make the list as one of the better sitcoms of the 1990s, dwarfed by the likes of “Frasier”, “Friends”, “Seinfeld” and even “Roseanne” but it’s still a well written and often funny series with the right touch of heart and soul along with a charming ensemble that made each episode so much fun.
Flawless isn’t fantastic with an overwrought crime plotline but makes up for it with two fine performances by Robert De Niro and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman who play well off against one another. Still, it’s not an entirely memorable drama and rightfully fell to the wayside compared to each of the actor’s filmography.
The Drownsman actually isn’t a bad movie but it’s also pretty ordinary for the genre and certainly borrows from Nightmare on Elm Street without the memorable villain instead we get something akin to the Swamp Thing. Aside from that, though, the acting isn’t half bad but the idea of water being scary doesn’t quite work and it seems to take itself too seriously to be considered satire either.
Mississippi Burning is a very well made movie with top notch performances by Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe to go along with a story that, in some instances, resonates with the news of the day. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time has good audio/video transfers but is on the disappointing side features-wise.
American Buffalo is what you think a stage play adaptation would be with singular locations, though a more open world in the beginning, and all the Mamet-isms you expect from his dialogue. The acting though is good from both Dustin Hoffman and Denis Franz so even though it is a slow film, it might be worth checking out especially if you can’t see the real thing.
When it comes down to it Mortdecai is just a bad movie. None of the jokes worked and Johnny Depp’s latest outlandish performance is no longer charming and the respectable supporting cast is completely wasted. This is not even worth a rental. As for the Blu-ray, the bonus material is basic while the video/audio transfers are more than respectable.
Fifty Shades of Grey is one of the more blasé “controversial” movies, one which doesn’t appeal to anybody, alienating its fans as well as those who have not read the novels. It also doesn’t help that the filmmakers seem to take the material so seriously and have actors read such terrible dialogue. That said, Dakota Johnson is pretty good and the production design and soundtrack are all far better than this material deserves.
The Pyramid is an all-around bad movie. Yeah, there are a couple of scares but hardly enough to make up for the rest of the crap from the acting to the story. This was also an odd release originally limited and making a paltry amount in the process, it now curses its way onto Blu-ray, courtesy of Fox, with good audio/video transfers but really thin features.
Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan of supernatural horror or demonic possession flicks with some obvious exceptions (The Exorcist for one) but for some of its flaws, mainly dating itself to the time period with the music and style, Stigmata is a decent enough flick and tolerable thanks to Patricia Arquette and Gabriel Byrne (who two months later would go on to play Satan in End of Days).